


Don't Leave Me Out to Dry

by HeyaTaktub



Series: Get a load of you [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Romance, Boundaries, Communication, Developing Relationship, Domestic, First Dates, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Getting to Know Each Other, Idiots in Love, M/M, Miscommunication, Soft Boys, Sokka Has a Big Dick, Unresolved Emotional Tension, Zuko thinks both are sexy as hell, but also a big brain, post-sex conversations, resolved emotional tension, they're both massive nerds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:41:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25810762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeyaTaktub/pseuds/HeyaTaktub
Summary: He beams at Zuko like he didn’t absolutely wreck his life, his heart, and his asshole all in one day.Zuko checks the alarm on his nightstand, it’s just past 5pm, which was a little long for him to have been napping, but he’s glad for the rest. “How long have you been awake?”“I don’t know, a few hours?” He starts piling the papers “I’m all yours now though, what’s up?”Zuko and Sokka try to navigate their intense emotions for each after hooking up.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Get a load of you [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1864192
Comments: 52
Kudos: 679





	Don't Leave Me Out to Dry

**Author's Note:**

> I'm eventually gonna run out of clever references to the laundry for the titles but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
> 
> No smut in this one.

Zuko wakes up from their post-sex nap, to find that Sokka is no longer wrapped around him. He tries to squash down the disappointment, and rubs the sleepiness from his eyes when he hears a ruffling.

Zuko pushes himself up to see Sokka sitting on the floor of his room, cross-legged and surrounded by papers. He’s freshly showered and wearing some of Zuko’s comfiest clothes, which he is definitely stretching out with his impressive muscles. He looks deep in thought, and his tongue is peeking out of his mouth. It’s really fucking adorable and Zuko can’t stop himself from saying so.

“What are you doing over there, other than looking disgustingly cute, and leaving me alone in bed,”

Sokka abandons his deep thought, and looks up at Zuko through his lashes. “ _ Hey _ ” he’s smiling “Sorry. Um.” He glances back down at the paper he’s holding “Orgasms provide a certain mental clarity for me, the better the sex, the better the ideas, y’know? and after what we did earlier...” He blushes “I needed to put them all on paper before I forgot”

Zuko looks down at all the papers to find formulas, designs, and schematic diagrams. There also seems to be doodles here and there.

_ Who the fuck is this guy _ “What are you working on?”

Sokka goes back to writing something but starts pointing at various papers around the room starting with the one he’s working on “a way to measure absolute time with almost complete accuracy, some theoretical math, a way to reheat soggy fries, and a haiku about your dick”

He beams at Zuko like he didn’t absolutely wreck his life, his heart, and his asshole all in one day.

Zuko checks the alarm on his nightstand, it’s just past 5pm, which was a little long for him to have been napping, but he’s glad for the rest. “How long have you been awake?” 

“I don’t know, a few hours?” He starts piling the papers “I’m all yours now though, what’s up?”

There’s a lot of questions running through Zuko’s head like:  _ What the fuck does Sokka actually do for a living?,Why didn’t he stay instead of just heading back to his sisters place?  _ And most of all _ How DARE he?  _ but the one he blurts out is “Why do you have Romeo and Juliet memorized? That doesn’t really seem like your sort of thing”

Sokka pulls a pair of sweatpants from Zuko’s dresser and throws it at him then and makes his way back over to the bed and flops over next to him. “You can’t expect me to answer your questions when you’re still naked, babe. I don’t know. Can’t I just be a romantic? Besides, I’m a man of varied tastes and talents. A true renaissance man”

That much is obvious, but Sokka is blushing so Zuko has a feeling there’s more to the story so Zuko just levels him with a look of disbelief.

“Alright fine. You got me. It’s the only play I have memorized, but you were still impressed so it counts”

“Why  _ that one _ ? There are better plays” Zuko puts on the pants and tries not to think about how cute Sokka looks wearing his clothes and how he already knows his way around zuko’s room. How comfortable he seems to be here.   
  
“I was Romeo my freshman year of high school” Sokka admits sheepishly. “I was looking for an excuse to kiss Yue, and she was trying out for Juliet”

“Of course you were” Zuko tries not to be annoyed that Sokka got the lead part in a play as a  _ freshman  _ when he didn’t even care about the sanctity of it.

“Any other questions, comments or concerns?” He leans over Zuko to peck him on the forehead and cages him in.

“Yeah, I can’t believe you showered and helped yourself to my clothes”

“I didn’t think it would be a problem” Sokka starts to pull back.

“It’s only a problem in that I could have joined you” Zuko quips.

Sokka stays and starts brushing back Zuko’s hair “Babe. I would have loved to. But you needed the rest. You didn’t get enough sleep last night, there’s no way you went to bed after we talked and still managed to go for an early morning jog with Aang, and you looked exhausted when I came to your door in the afternoon,” Sokka quirks his head to the side “I’m honestly surprised you were so down to...”

“Fuck? It’s not that surprising, actually. The whole reason I was awake and doing laundry so late last night is that I was too horny to fall asleep”

Sokka honks out a laugh “You’re joking! What, rubbing one out didn’t do the trick?”

“Well I didn’t realize how bad it was or even what it was that had me so on edge until I walked right into a porno” 

“It was kismet, babe. Written in the stars” Sokka pokes him.

“Yes, the Gods ignored all my other prayers and decided to instead make all my wet dreams come true” Zuko snorts.

Sokka playfully bites at Zuko’s ear. “They sure did! We can’t stay in bed for the rest of the day though, so what do you want to do” He hauls them both out of the bed and corrals them into the living room.

“We should both probably eat,” Zuko huffs “Wanna order in and watch something?”

“Sounds perfect. I pick what we eat, you pick what we watch?” Sokka has already stretched out on Zuko’s couch.

“That sounds like a gamble for the both of us. What if our tastes aren’t compatible?”

“I guess we just have to learn to trust each other, Sunshine” Sokka pats the cushion next to him but Zuko doesn’t sit yet “No allergies or dietary restrictions?” 

Zuko shakes his head. 

“It’ll be fun. You can pull up the movie or whatever when the food gets here and we can have a fun little surprise” Sokka gives a hesitant smile and pulls out his phone from... somewhere? God  _ again _ ? Zuko should really start paying more attention. Sokka fiddles around with his phone for another minute before announcing “Food will be here in 40ish minutes”

Zuko still hasn’t sat down, and the vibe between them is starting to go stale. Sokka is eyeing him with a calculating look but the thing is that Zuko knows if he sits down on that couch without some sort of distraction, he and Sokka are going to end up making out and rutting against each other like teenagers, maybe more- a lot can happen in 40 minutes- and while he’s not opposed to that in theory, he _ really likes _ Sokka, and he’s had issues with his other relationships being mostly physical. He walks into the kitchen abruptly. “I’m going to make some tea. Can I get you anything?”

Sokka squirms in his seat a little bit “Just the pleasure of your company” and something about the way he says it is pointed.

Zuko pauses at the cupboard “Nothing to drink?”

“I’ll take whatever you’re willing to offer me, Sunshine” And Zuko knows there’s meaning behind that statement too.

He swallows roughly and stares at his tea selection. He generally likes to pair his tea but he has no idea what they’ll be eating, and he’s trying to delay going back to the couch for a little while longer, he feels hot and flush with anticipation. Finally, he pulls out the hibiscus and a pot and decides an iced tea should do the trick and moves through the steps to prepare it. Once everything is simmering he sets a short timer, fills two glasses with ice water for the meantime, and finally plops down next to Sokka, but can’t look at him.

Zuko’s body is tense and his fists are clenched at his lap, and he tries to stop getting so worked up about this, tries to reassure himself.  _ He likes Sokka. It’s mutual. Sokka is kind. He doesn’t want to hurt him. He isn’t just in it for the sex, and wants to get to know him. Sokka is safe. _ He sits there next to Sokka, but keeps his eyes on his phone timer, stiff even as Sokka tries to make small talk. 

He hears deep inhale as if Sokka is gearing himself up to say something. “It’s okay if you don’t want me to stay, you know. I can leave.” Zuko finally snaps his gaze over to Sokka and sees that he seems to be making himself small, wrapped up and shrinking into himself, and Sokka’s the one not looking at  _ him _ .

_ What? _ “I didn’t say that!” Zuko’s heart drops to his stomach.

“Listen, it’s fine. But... You won’t look at me, you don’t want to interact and you’re clearly uncomfortable right now. If something’s wrong, or you’ve changed your mind I can leave.”

Zuko’s voice is caught in his throat.   
  
Sokka’s voice is very controlled “If you want this to be limited to today or limited to the bedroom, you can say so. I already told you this was whatever you wanted it to be. We don’t have to have dinner, and you don’t have to humor me. But you’re sort of killing me here, dude. You look like you’d rather die than be around me right now.” 

Zuko notices immediately that the terms of endearment have stopped, and Sokka’s voice is still friendly but not as soft. Fuck. “Okay, listen. You’re right. I should have said something. I’ve made a mistake” Zuko’s desperately trying to find the right words

Sokka’s eyes look hurt and a little wet when he snaps them over to Zuko, and he’s shifting to get off the couch and Zuko realizes how bad that sounded.  _ Okay those were  _ _ definitely _ _ not the right words, you idiot. _

Zuko panics and scrambles for Sokka’s hand “No! Not you.  _ Never you _ . I want you here, I promise. I’m just nervous around you, that’s all. And everything feels” Zuko hesitates.

Sokka squeezes his hand “I’m listening. I’m nervous too”

“it’s delicate” 

Sokka frowns “I’m not delicate”

The timer for the tea goes off, and Sokka follows Zuko into the kitchen, and he sits on the counter as he watches Zuko finish preparing the drink.

“Not you. This situation is delicate.” he sighs, and tries to make sure his words are clear. ‘My mistake was not communicating with you. And I’m sorry. I don’t have a lot of healthy relationships in general, let alone romantic ones. I’m not good at love, or maybe it’s not good to me. All I know is the only ex I ended on good terms with was my first and only girlfriend before we both realized we were gay. And I’m just worried i’m gonna fuck things up and lose everthing. Aang has been a really good friend to me and if I mess this up with you, what if I lose that too?”

Sokka is quiet while he processes, then slips behind Zuko to pull him into an embrace. “You seem pretty sure that things won’t work out”

“No. I think I’m just too scared to let myself hope that they do,” Zuko admits “I feel like I want too much”

“I think we’re both overthinking things” Sokka presses a kiss to Zuko’s temple “Why don’t we just chill out and see where it goes. If we’re actually compatible”

Zuko nods “I think it would be best if we take sex off the table for a while” 

“Yeah. Of course. Only touches above the belt until we revisit this. Besides, we already know our compatibility there” 

They smile at each other, and are relieved to see that neither of them are forced.

“Are you done in the kitchen?” 

“Yeah. The tea is in the fridge. We probably still have a bit until the food gets here, so why don’t you tell me something about yourself” Zuko let’s Sokka lead them back to the couch, and nestles against his lover.

Sokka hums, “Did I tell you about the months I spent in North Africa during my travels?”

“No, tell me”

Sokka tells him how he had come down from Spain and sailed a small ship across the Strait of Gibraltar, into Morocco. He tells him about how beautiful the Moroccan architecture was, shopping the bazaars, the moroccan bath house, and his amazement at the spice shops. He tells him about the Casbah in Algeria, the ancient ruins in Tunisia, and the lovely family that hosted him in Libya. He argues that people only ever think about the European side of the Mediterranean, but no one ever mentions how the north shores of Africa have some of the loveliest beaches in the world. “I spent a few weeks in each country working my way east until I was in Egypt.”

“Did you go to see the pyramids and the temples?” 

“Yeah, I did a whole tour of all the Pharaonic spectacles, Giza, Luxur, Aswan, but I made my way to Alexandria and Some of the cities around the Red Sea too. The scuba diving was amazing. But my favorite part of Egypt was actually the desert”

“The desert?”

“Yeah. I made a trip out to the Siwa Oasis, which is out west, near the border with Libya, sort of in the middle of nowhere, then some of the local Siwans took me camping at one of the springs in the desert. There was lemongrass and hibiscus growing near the spring, which they used for various teas, and we ate lamb, and watched the sunset. It was really quiet and tranquil. They told me folktales, and histories. And out in the desert you could see the stars and the moon shining bright, unobstructed”

“That does sound nice”

They’re interrupted when the buzzer for the apartment rings. “Hold that thought”

He brings the food in, fetches the iced tea and arranges everything on the coffee table in front of him “I was thinking a lot about that camping trip when we spent all night talking in the laundry room. There was a similar tranquility and intimacy, you know?”

“Yeah?” Zuko

“Sure” Sokka chuckles to himself “Which is why i think this is particularly funny” 

Zuko finally takes a glance at their meal and notices. Lamb and rice. And hibiscus tea. Huh.

Sokka smiles at him smugly. “How’s THAT for a good omen”

“Hmmm. But it’s iced”

Sokka rolls his eyes. “Okay,  _ negative nancy _ . Karkade- that’s what they call hibiscus in Egypt- can be served hot or cold, but there’s not really ice or a fridge in the middle of the desert. Still pairs perfectly.”

Zuko’s not entirely convinced that this is some cosmic sign about their compatibility, but he’s a little reluctant to be cynical when Sokka is smiling at him like that.

Zuko’s heart stutters as he sits down and loads up Netflix. “Is original Star Trek okay?”

Sokka is giving him another smug, delighted look.

“What now?” Zuko’s heart is inventing new styles of dance.

“Nothing. It’s fine. Eat your lamb” 

__________

It’s hours later, they’re multiple episodes in, stomachs full, hearts fuller. They’d talked a little more about their relationship histories, about their insecurities, and then moved on to lighter topics. 

Right now, Zuko has his head in Sokka’s lap while Sokka strokes his hair, and he is ranting. Sokka looks like he’s trying not to laugh.

“No listen,  _ listen _ . Sokka. It’s just amazing how progressive this show was for it’s time okay, they tackled so many issues, and tried to show humanity as it  _ should be _ once you remove all the arbitrary social constructs like gender and race, and fuck even currency. Not to mention how the show has influenced the scientific community for decades now.  _ STOP LAUGHING AT ME! _ ”

“I’m not, I swear!” but he’s stopped playing with Zuko’s hair to hide his mouth behind his hands.

“You think I’m a dork. You’re totally judging me” Zuko is pouting, indignant. 

“I mean, you’re definitely an enormous dork, but I find it very cute, I promise. But there’s zero judgement... you’re really preaching to the choir here, Sunshine” Sokka resumes playing with Zuko’s hair. “I wrote a term paper in undergrad about the warp field mechanics presented in Star Trek, and how accurate it ended up being to the theories we have today, particularly the  Alcubierre drive. ”

Zuko pauses before admitting it. “I wrote a term paper for a classics course comparing Kirk and Spocks characterization to Achilles and Patrolcus as well as Alexander and Hephaestion”

Sokka is biting his lip as if to hold back from making a comment, but Zuko already knows what he’s thinking.  _ Another good omen _ . 

When it’s time for Sokka to leave he presses a chaste kiss at Zuko’s forehead and heads to the door. 

Zuko reels him in for a proper kiss that leaves them both a little weak at the knees. “I hope you had a good time”

“I did”

“Is it okay if I ask Aang for your number?”

Sokka smiles softly “Yes”

“I’d like to see you again tomorrow if you’re free” 

“Of course. Anything else?”

They’re both grinning.

“Kiss me again before you leave?”

Sokka’s response is left unsaid.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it. I'm going to be taking a few parts to build their relationship before we get back to the filth but be assured the filth WILL return.


End file.
